General Facts About GSH Use

There are some general facts we have gleaned about GSH use. We present them here for your information. Please do not make any changes to your medical treatment without your medical professional's consent and supervision.     NOTE:  GSH use should not be attempted in CF patients who culture Burkholderia cepacia, or who have a history of hemoptysis/pneumothorax, or whose FEV1 is less than 30% predicted, or who have undergone transplant until such time as research has been performed to decide whether use under such conditions is safe.

1. The body of an average adult male makes about 10 grams of GSH per day.

2. The liver makes the most GSH in the body, and the liver is willing to give up one half of its produced GSH to the rest of the body in an emergency situation.

3. GSH is taken up intact by the jejunum. It is desirable to take ascorbic acid with GSH that is taken orally, because in the absence of ascorbic acid, GSH may be preferentially cleaved into its constituent amino acids by the jejunum instead of taken up intact.

4. The use of acetaminophen is incompatible with GSH therapy, as the acetaminophen will strip the body of GSH. Alcohol likewise strips the body of GSH, and should not be consumed while using GSH, as do other drugs such as morphine.

5. GSH is used in cases of cachexia, where there is wasting of the body due to disease. In CF, it seems to assist in the absorption of food, perhaps by reducing the inflammation of the gut characteristic of CF.

6. A severe deficit of GSH in various bodily organs can produce fibrosization of those organs. For example, cirrhosis of the liver and GSH deficiency are almost always found together. Other parts of the body require GSH. The retina is one, and lack of GSH can contribute to macular degeneration.

7. It is always important to start with small doses of GSH, whether oral or inhaled, and work up gradually to one's desired dose. Transient phenomena associated with GSH use include: sulphur-smelling flatulence, hypotension, and a slight worsening of asthma or allergy symptoms. All of these disappear within days of consistent GSH use. Indeed, over time, one's asthma or allergy symptoms should actually lessen with consistent use of GSH.

8. Inhaled GSH should be buffered to adjust the pH upward. Free acid GSH has a pH of 2.7, which is more acidic than the lung environment and causes irritation. GSH Plus, a new product, is pH adjusted to a pH of 5.5, which pH is not irritating to the lung. It is also important that the solution not be hypotonic, which irritates the lung, also. Some hypertonicity can be tolerated by the lung, but GSH Plus has been formulated to produce a roughly isotonic solution when mixed as directed. An isotonic solution will not produce irritation otherwise due to mismatch of osmolality.